Shepard Fairey “May Day” Exhibition | Opening Event Recap

After a extensive, as well as expansive, installations across the city of New York, Saturday’s opening of May Day exhibition at Deitch Projects marked the grand finale of artist/activist Shepard Fairey‘s “take-over” of the Big Apple. A culmination of months, even years, worth of planning and work, May Day is a celebration of the rebellious spirit and those dare to counter the status quo set by politics, cultures, economies, and etc… Rise above the occasion and take point to the countless obstacles we face as individual, as citizen, and as society, as Fairey declared in the exhibition statement, “By now we thought we would be in post-Bush utopia, but we’re still having to call attention to these problems. If we stay silent, there’s no hope. But if we make noise, if we put our ideas out there, then maybe we can make a change like the people in the portraits have done.”

Like a beacon, the exhibition induced crowd even before the official opening at 6 PM. Some waited online since the morning hours just to get the first glimpse. But before the Deitch Projects lifted the massive garage door, the queue outside already took on a carnival-esque atmosphere. A performance art troupe re-enacted their version of the pagan ritual for summer solace took over the better half of Wooster Street. Hearts Challenger Sweets Truck offered refreshments to those on-line or passerby. All the while securities maintained a calm, orderly presence that wrapped around the street corner. When the exhibit officially started, the massive space was immediately flooded with luminaries, fellow artists, and fans alike. Mingling in between, Fairey granted impromptu interview, photos ops, autographs, as well as brief oration on the significance of each piece.

The May Day exhibition served not just a tour-de-force for Shepard Fairey and members of Fairey’s Team OBEY. Its weighted presence doubled what just be the last major exhibition by Deitch Projects and Jeffery Deitch as influential gallerist take up directorship for Los Angeles MOCA, making this exhibition all the more important. Shepard Fairey’s May Day Exhibition at Deitch Projects is open to the general viewing starting today till Saturday, May 29th.